


The City That Never Sleeps

by kitsalice



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: City setting, Feminine Reader, Other, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, Romance, Romantic Fluff, mettaton/reader - Freeform, reader is a female
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 13:18:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7316770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitsalice/pseuds/kitsalice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically, you fall in love with a robot while living in a city, complications arise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> OK. I'll be straightforward; this is one of my first fanfics in a while. It may not be the greatest, but I'm trying to get the point across that Mettaton shouldn't be portrayed as a sex addict 120% of the time. Yes, okay, he is over dramatic and uses a lot of innuendos, but the point of fanfiction is to take a character and expand their character into your own story. There's nothing wrong with a little smut, but some change would be nice too. I absolutely love that some other people have the same viewpoint as me, with the whole romantic and fluff-driven Mettaton, and if you're like me you'd like to see something other than smut that makes you want to drown in holy water.
> 
> Sorry, I'm ranting.

You woke up to a horrendously pleasant sound from your phone; ah, your blessed alarm.

Being an intern at the local hospital, sleeping in was a luxury you never really had. However, you could come close to it by setting two alarms for the morning. The first went off thirty minutes before your actual alarm, tricking your brain into thinking it had stolen some extra time for some well deserved sleep. You fumbled for the snooze button, and closed your eyes for a couple more minutes. And in what seemed like mere seconds, your alarm went off again. Not risking being late, you got up and walked over to the bathroom and did what you had to do. You then went to your closet to don the most intricate, beautiful and decorative outfit your eyes had ever seen;

Scrubs.

Since your team was on call today, it was the only outfit capable of withstanding whatever patients had to throw at you. Oh! And look at that! The only ones left were in your favorite color; cat vomit! Positivity really worked wonders in the morning. Now, since you had woken up at five in the morning, your taste buds were really itching for some coffee. So, you strode over to the nearest coffee shop (coffee makers in the apartment you lived in were a luxury, since counter space had to be preserved for other important things) and decided to get a caramel frappuccino. You couldn't stand the taste of anything else; it made your face scrunch up in disgust at how bitter other coffees were.

Enough moseying around, thinking about other coffees, you thought. I've got to get to work.

A short while later, you arrived at the hospital where you worked. It was pretty big, but it kind of had to be to take in all of the patients from the city. It was actually pretty nice looking, with all the glass and new structures put up. As you walked through the front door, you were greeted with a pleasant hello from the receptionist sitting behind the counter. You took the elevator to the 5th floor, where you were usually stationed. A couple of other interns and nurses were in the hallways; you made sure to either send a hello or a smile towards their way. Finally you made it to the desk where you had to type out endless charts, reports and other nonsensical things. You put your stuff down, sat in your chair and checked today's agenda; hmm, nothing too time consuming.

That is, until your senior resident had something to say.

Let's stop for a second and take a look at your senior resident. Miss Bertha Francis. A short, stout little woman with dimples the size of dinner plates. She was pretty average looking; short, brown hair, a little bit of fluff to her, some wacky looking purple glasses. She loved to smile, and it seemed as if she didn't have a mean bone in her body. You wondered how she could handle some cases you had seen around here; a drunk flinging his empty liquor bottles at nurses, someone coming in with a stop sign impaled in their leg, and so forth. It didn't seem to faze her at all. She adored everyone working here, whether it be nurses or the chief. 

You wondered what she wanted.

"Dear, could you go to a couple of the rooms and check on some of the patients? I'm running a little behind with some of these consults. I'll let you get back to the desk once my workload's a little lighter." she said in a silvery voice.

"Oh, of course, Dr. Francis. It's no problem. Sorry you've been so busy." you replied.

"It's nothing, honey. Oh, my pager's going off. See you around!" she called as she turned around and waved back to you.

You waved back and began making your way to the rooms along the hallway. You checked the info on the doors and checked on the patients themselves. Everything seemed in place and quiet; a calm atmosphere hung around the hospital. Only when you arrived at your fourth room the silence was broken.

As you entered the room, two main things came to attention; a robot was chattering away on the phone near the window, and the patient herself was lying back and looked in pain. You walked over to her and began to take her vitals; your job was to merely check on the patients for now, not to treat them necessarily. She was pretty attractive looking and had quite a bit of makeup on. You wondered where she might've come from. The robot was still blabbering away on the phone, and you wondered if some people had any respect for others. Especially when the others in question are in pain. You looked up at the robot, but only saw the back of their head. Hmm. Still, they had some pretty nice hair. You looked back down to take the girl's blood pressure, and only then did the robot turn around and put their phone down and away.

Oh, my word. Holy hot damn, was that a fine looking hunk of metal. His hair was gorgeous, charcoal swept to the side and covering an eye. You wanted to reach out and touch it, but you had self control. His face was breathtaking, too. Eyes perfectly shaped, with perfect eyelashes. Luscious lips with lipstick expertly applied. Your heart melted as your eyes wandered over every inch of him. He seemed to have the perfect proportions. His body was just spectacularly curvaceous. You wondered who could've created such a work of art. You felt honored to be standing in his presence. In fact, you could've fainted right then and there.

Mind you, this was only a second's observation.

"Finally! Someone relevant arrived! Ugh, we've been waiting here for what felt like hours on end! Nobody even bats an eye our way. Take a look at Gisele here, fell off the catwalk, outfit and all! I was the one who had to take her here. Ugh, nobody even dared touch her! Poor thing must be broken by now. Oh, dear, you must get somebody to take a look at her." He screeched.

"Oh, uh, I just came here to check on her. She's fine. Her signs are normal. Nothing broken, I think they'll let you out soon enough." you calmly replied as you ripped the velcro apart on the cuff.

"That's nice. I'll be able to get back to work, then." Gisele quietly responded.

"Thank goodness. I was starting to worry. Oh, I'm Mettaton, by the way. I think you've already met Gisele." He outstretched his hand. It was a gorgeous one.

You shook his hand and said your name in response. Wow. What an amazing handshake. You were never washing your hand again.

The silence hung in the air for a moment as you accidentally held eye contact with Mettaton for too long. You snapped out of it though, as you remembered your responsibilities.

"Yeah, so I'll just be on my way then. You guys take care of yourselves now, alright?" You said as you picked up your instruments and put them back where they belonged. While you were returning everything you made sure to keep your face turned away from Mettaton so he wouldn't be able to see you blushing.

"Thanks so much! Bye now!" Gisele replied.

"Bye, darling. Hope to see you again sometime soon." He waved to you with a smirk on his face as you walked back out.

You waved to them and closed the door behind you. You practically ran back to your chair at your desk, put your head in your hands, and tried your hardest not to scream. Boy oh boy, was that an encounter. Did he just smirk at you? Did he just call you "darling"? Why did he say he wanted to see you again? Ugh, your head hurt from overthinking.

You decided to calm down with a nice hot steaming meal of unknown meat from the cafeteria and decided to think things over there.

But it didn't really help.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fixed all the issues with my computer now, everything should be going okay.. Currently I'm on vacation and have limited access to a computer so I won't really have much time at all to write chapters. I hope this one can suffice for a while. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who commented, gave me a kudos, and just had the time to click on my story and read it, it really means a lot to me.  
> I hope my writing's alright for now.

Every day for the rest of that week, you thought about him. While you choked down your lunch in a hurry to get to work, you thought of his hair. Later, as you witnessed a surgery that required eleven bullets to removed from a middle-aged man's stomach, you thought of the smirk he gave you on your way out of the room. You were kind of confused at what you should be astounded by; the surgery going on in front of you, or your thoughts on Mettaton. You wiped sweat off your brow and took a deep breath in as you were called to step forward into the surgery. And as you alternated between standing and helping for hours, you had no time for any thoughts other than the medical terminology and facts instilled into your mind from years of med school. Finally, after about five hours in the operating room, you were given the all clear to clean up. The surgery was successful, and the patient was going to live to see another day. You helped the other doctors clean and sterilize the room in preparation for another surgery, and only after you finished that could you leave.

It was half an hour later that you were sitting at your desk, with your hands clasped and your foot tapping impatiently. You were supposed to be going through lab reports today, but you just weren't in the mood. You'd just stare at your computer, look back at the clock on the wall constantly, and watch the mouse cursor blink. A while later you closed your eyes, and your mind instantly raced to thoughts of Mettaton: his face, his smile, his voice. God, how you wanted to hear it again. It wasn't monotone, like you'd imagine a stereotypical robot voice would be, but it had emotion, passion, and sounded heavenly. You shook your head in an attempt to clear your mind and try to focus on work again. You began scrolling through the reports when a finger on your back interrupted your flow.

It was your co-worker, Sophia. You slid your body off the desk and straightened out in your chair. Putting on a half-hearted smile, you turned around to see what she wanted.

Sophia was THE definition of a punk rocker chick. You sometimes wondered why she wasn't in some band traveling the country in a beat up Volkswagen, hunting for a gig in a small town nobody bothered to come to. She had her hair cut short, shaved off on one side, and colored a shocking shade of electric blue. Tattoos ran up her arms, and if she could she'd wear her combat boots to work. Her face was caked in dark, edgy makeup. And she absolutely reeked of Axe. You thought about why she chose medicine as her profession, and working in a busy hospital, cramped up in the same room for sometimes up to thirty six hours at a time.

Anyways, let's get to the point: what she wanted to ask or tell you.

"Hey, what's up? You seem down, like, really down. If you had lab reports to do earlier you'd be finished with em' a while back. So, what's up? Boy problems?" she said in a voice with smoky undertones.

How'd she know? You quickly felt the blood rush to your cheeks, so you buried the lower half of your face in your hand. "Umm, pshh, no. I've got better things to do." Your voice was muffled from your mouth being in your hand. "I'm just, uh, really tired. Yeah. Really tired. Forty eight hour shifts do that to you, huh?" You tried to manage a chuckle to cover up the nervous breaks in your voice. Why were you acting like this? You wanted to slap yourself for being so weird. You weren't like this usually. Most of the time you were cool, calm, and collected. Ughh.

"Yeah, okay, sure. You don't seem like you wanna talk about it. Hey, I'm a few chairs away. Hit me up when you wanna." she replied, with a suspicious voice and face.

"Okay. Thanks for uh, asking me about it, I guess." You turned around and put your head in your hands again; this was becoming pretty common now, ever since you had met him. You weren't even going to say his name anymore, that's how much you wanted this, um, crush, to end. Peeking out of your hideout, you looked at the clock: five thirty. Ew. Four and a half more hours till your shift ended. You let out a soft groan and returned to your computer.

\-----

As you turned your hand around to look at your watch, your eyes scanned the two little arms pointed this way and that. Nine fifty nine. Perfect. You got up out of your chair, grabbed your medical journals for the day, took a few other things, shoved them in your bag and slung it over your shoulder. You said bye to the other people still working half-asleep at the desks and made your way down towards the exit. Walking down the hallway in the dark always scared you somehow. You were just generally creeped out by it and always made sure wherever you were, there was either light or someone else with you. But you arrived at the elevator in one piece and stood to wait.

While tapping out random rhythms on the linoleum floor with your foot, you decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator on a whim. Like it mattered, anyways. The doctors here ate so poorly they were going to be treating each other for clogged arteries. You skipped down the stairs, jumping off the last three or so until you made it down to the ground floor. Hurrying past the receptionist, you said bye and walked up to the sliding glass doors. As soon as they opened, you felt the warm and humid air counteract with the cold, sterile and filtered air. You began counting your steps out of the hospital, and thought about your "crush" on Mettaton. You had gone a whole day without thinking about him (too much), and you didn't even think you felt anything for him anymore. Wow, you could actually get over a crush! Wow. You felt so empowered by the thoughts of feminist independence.

Until you heard an extremely all too familiar voice behind you.

"Darling! I was just about to go in to ask for you! One of my friends is um, sick, I wanted to ask you about it, and I didn't know where else to find you!" he called out as he ran to catch up to you.

Goddammit.

Your heart stopped momentarily, your next breath was caught in your throat, and fire burned your face. You decided to stop and wait for him. He appeared beside you shortly, and you resumed walking. Welp, wasn't this awkward? You didn't really know what to say, so you just hung your head and stared at your shoes. The both of you trudged along in silence to the end of the ambulance drop off zone, and you stopped and turned to him slightly.

"Um, usually from here I take the subway home. I'm guessing you'll have a ride home?" you asked in a meek voice.

"Oh, I took the subway here, actually. I'll just ride with you. Where do you live?" he replied, and then asked.

You told him the general area where you lived, to which he replied with, "Oh, fabulous! I live near there, too. Come on now, we've got a train to catch."

Oh, my God. You told Mettaton where you lived, and now he's riding home with you?? Butterflies furiously fluttered in your stomach; no, wait, it was nausea.

The both of you hopped up the stairs, through the station and up to the platform. While you two waited for the train to arrive, he turned to you and began talking.

"So, how are you, my darling? You don't look too well, are you sick? Oh, you might be tired. Doctors and those types of people work long hours, don't they?" he asked.

Now, you finally turned completely and faced him. Oh, my. He looked even more stunning in the dim light from the platform lights. Every facial feature was highlighted and just amplified his beauty a thousand times more. You stood there, floundering around like a fish on land until you managed to stammer out, "Yeah, uh, yeah we do. I would've looked um, nicer if I had known I would see you."

"Is that so? You'd dress up nicely, just for me? Hmm."

Oh no, oh no oh no oh no. He knows, he kNOWS, HE KNOWS.

He must've seen your reaction, because he laughed, "I'm only kidding, love!"

You were about to say something but you were interrupted by the sound of the incoming train. You and him entered the train after it arrived, and you sat down. Shortly after, Mettaton sat down next to you. Your heart jumped to your ears, but you closed your eyes and tried to drown out all of the ensuing emotions. The journey home was mostly you just falling asleep and waking up, and small talk with Mettaton. You watched the lights of the city flash by in the window, and as you did you were momentarily mesmerized by the sheer energy of it. You were captured in the moment, and felt nothing but happiness at that exact time.

But, all good things must come to an end. Your stop was here, and so you stood up, swiveled around and said, "Hey, this is my stop. I'll, uh, see you around. Thanks for riding home with me. You really didn't have to do that, y'know."

"Anything for you, my darling. I'm sure we'll see each other around." The doors opened then, and you and Mettaton both got out. You began walking to the exit, but you were stopped.

"Hey, wait, sweetheart! I forgot something!" he called out to you. You turned around and jogged back to him, and before you knew it, he had gently taken your face and pecked you on both cheeks. "Just a proper goodbye! See you!" And with that he walked away.

You stood there in shock.

Oh, my God.

Wait, he never asked you anything about his sick friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Time sure flies.

A month had passed by since your encounter with Mettaton on the train, and work had been keeping you busy since then. You'd seen him maybe once or twice, walking down the street. Nothing much really happened between you two on those meetings, other than a lot of small talk and excessive internal screaming. You thought about those conversations now as you listened to the sound of your sneakers tapping the sidewalk. The dips and holes in it were bound to trip you while you were in your thinking state, but you managed to avoid making a fool of yourself.

As you approached the train station's entrance, you noticed a couple making out near the exit. The sounds they were making, ugh. It made you want to dry heave at all the spit they were sharing. You did your best not to stare too hard at them, pushed through the turnstile and hopped up the stairs to the platform. How nice it must be, to be so in love you disgust other people. If only you had someone to be that way with..

Letting out a sigh, you looked over the edge of the platform to see where the train was. It was pretty close, so you stepped back and waited. You glanced up at the sky as a crack of thunder rolled across, and made you wonder if you were going to make it to your destination before it started to rain. Oh yeah, your destination. You were going over to your friend Alphys' house. She'd invited you over for lunch. She was really nice for doing that. You'd thank her once you got to her house.

\-----

The both of you met a while back, you thought, as trees and buildings flashed by through the windows. Your mind couldn't quite grasp the exact details of your meeting, but you remembered that it was a little awkward. But from that point on, you two had grown together as friends. She seemed really timid and quiet at first, but now she'd become more comfortable around your presence. You really got to know who she was, and Alphys was truly a good friend to have around. You two would sometimes debate for hours over scientific stuff nobody else cared about. Sharing secrets and gossip was something you guys did all the time. It was pretty cool having someone other than the landlord to talk to after you'd moved here.

\----

The announcement system then came on to name the next stop, which was yours. You pushed through the crowd of people on the train and exited. Alphys' apartment was a ways from where you were, so you could enjoy a nice walk before anything happened. Unfortunately, the sky seemed to be growing darker and the thunder rumbled more frequently, thus your walk was turned into a jog.

As you arrived, you pulled out your cellphone to let Alphys know you were here, when the first few raindrops of the storm began to fall. You were buzzed in shortly after and entered the elevator up to the seventh floor where she and her girlfriend, Undyne, lived. The elevator squeaked its way up, which prompted you think of how meeting a monster seemed impossible up until a few years ago. You'd heard the news that a magical barrier was broken and that monsters and humans would now have to live together, but you never really thought much of it until you'd seen a monster. They weren't frightening to you, just a little.. different. But you still held them in the same respect as other people and treated them fairly.

The creaking and groaning of the elevator ceased, followed by an audible dinging noise. You stepped out of the elevator, walked over to where their apartment was, and knocked on the door. You heard voices, some yelling and debating of who should open the door ensued, and finally Alphys answered the door.

"Hi! You can come in, just leave your shoes near the door." she said in a quiet but cheerful voice.

You proceeded to take off your shoes, toss them over to the pile that was next to the door, and took your jacket and bag off. Looking around the apartment, you made your way over to the living room, where Alphys and Undyne were.

They lived in a nicer borough, therefore they had a pretty nice apartment. It was a rather large size for the city you lived in, and was decorated comfortably. Pictures of them together lined the walls, a few posters of different anime shows hung, and some dumbbells were strewn across the floor. The furniture wasn't too fancy, and wasn't too old. It was very cozy and inviting, to say the least. Entering the living room, you could see that the TV was playing an episode of some kind of anime, and Alphys and Undyne were sitting together on the couch. You flopped onto a chair and watched with them. The three of you talked for a while, about things going on in each of your lives and whatnot. 

After some time, Undyne got up, stretched, and said, "Guys, I'm going over to the kitchen to make lunch. No guarantees on it not catching fire, so you better be okay with eating burnt food."

"I'm fine with eating charred salad, you have fun over there." you replied with a smirk.

She left with a scornful look and you and Alphys were left behind with the TV still going.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you. I invited someone else over, you don't mind, right?" Alphys asked.

"Oh, no, I'm cool with that." you casually replied as you leaned back farther into your chair.

"Okay good. He's a really interesting personality, uh I mean the person coming over and he kept going on about some girl he met and how nice she was and how smart and good looking she was, so I invited him over to talk about it. You'll love him, never a dull moment with him around." she waved her hands around as she spoke.

"Hmm. I'll see."

The rain began to pour harder, and the pattering of the water against the window grew louder. Alphys then remarked on how she hoped he'd made it here before it got really bad, and you closed your eyes for a bit of relaxation before lunch. But your eyes flew open as you heard a knock on the door, followed by it opening and someone calling out, "Hello, my beauties!"

\-----

Never before had you wanted to melt into the ground so much before, but that changed as you instantly recognized the person behind the voice. No, no, no. Out of all people, Alphys had invited Mettaton?!? Oh Lord, have mercy. Your face grew hot and your heart began to beat faster and faster as the reality of the situation dawned on you. The sound of footsteps got louder as he began to walk into the living room, and started to speak.

"Oh, Alphys, thank you so much, dear, for inviting me over." he said as he flipped his hair and ran his fingers through it. "Ugh, the rain was getting so bad, so I ran over here and-" his sentence was cut short and his expression turned into a wide-eyed one as he appeared at the doorway and saw you sitting there. But being the professional he was, he quickly saved face and exclaimed, "Darling! What a lovely surprise! I wasn't expecting to run into you!" 

You sheepishly smiled and waved to him. Alphys turned to you and asked, "You know him? Wow, so introductions skipped, I guess." With a nod, you watched as she got up and hugged him hello. Hmm. So they must be close friends. Mettaton then walked over to you and gave you a hug as well. As he did, you could smell the perfume or whatever he was wearing and oh my did it smell heavenly. You wanted to stay in his hold forever, but sadly you two were forced to let go and you awkwardly sat back down in your chair. Everybody did the same, and Alphys and Mettaton began chatting. You were still kind of in shock at what had just happened, so you sat in silence for a bit. A few glances at the clock later, Undyne called everyone into the kitchen for lunch. You, Undyne, Alphys and Mettaton all sat down one by one.

Well, wasn't this awkward.

"What are you guys waiting for? Dig in!" Undyne beckoned with her hands. "Oh, and (Y/N), I hope you don't mind monster food, since the majority of us are monsters." 

"N-No, not at all." You started to reach for some food, but upon taking a closer look at the salad that was sitting on the table, you indeed saw that it had been slightly charred. What did this woman do with food? You pondered that question as the four of you ate in silence. Aside from being distracted by occasionally stealing a glance up at Mettaton, who sat across from you, your plate was clean within a few minutes.

\-----

After what seemed like forever enveloped in the veil of silence, Alphys put down her fork and turned to Mettaton.

"Mettaton." she mischieviously smirked, completely out of character for her. "You've been talking on and on about someone you met recently, and uh, it seems you might have a little crush? Tell us about her, won't you?"

With those words your heart sank, as the fatal blow of him falling for someone else had registered in your mind. That was it. He was taken. Gone. Your eyes began to sting with emotion, but you wiped it away and instead sighed with disappointment. You hated yourself sometimes for being so freaking sensitive. But as you looked up at him in anticipation of his words, you could've sworn he looked right into your eyes. He held eye contact, gave a crooked smile, and looked down at the table as he began speaking in his golden voice.

"Well, first, she's amazingly smart. She's absolutely stunning, and is the nicest person I have met, quite truthfully. I adore how she's subtly shy, but is confident, too. She makes me so happy by just looking at her. I wish she knew how I felt, though. Oh, I could go on and on at how amazing she is. I haven't talked to her much at all, but I really hope I get to see her more often." he paused to fix his hair, which had fallen completely into his face at this point. 

Your heart broke with every confession he made. Kicking yourself internally, you had to remind yourself it was only a crush, and that you could get over it anytime. How did you let yourself become so attached to a stupid fling that never even happened? Whatever. Anything you'd felt for him was gone; he had someone he could love, unlike you. You wanted to cry right then and there, but as the table was cleaned after lunch, and as the four (well, three, because you kind of excluded yourself from the conversation) of you conversed in the living room, you managed to hold it together.

Only when you'd announced you were leaving to go back home did Mettaton pay close attention to you again. As you sat down on the floor, lacing up your sneakers, he came around out of the room and sat down next to you.

"Darling." he said in a drawn out voice.

"Yes?" you almost spat out the word. You were angry at him for still leading you on and flirting with you even after he confessed his love for someone else.

"We've been seeing each other so often now, I was wondering if you'd maybe like to talk, well, somewhere other than in person."

Was he really doing this? "Are you giving me your number, Mettaton?"

"Of course! Why not? I absolutely adore talking to you more, love!"

He handed you a slip of paper, and you gingerly reached out and took it from his hand. You shuddered slightly as your fingers touched. Putting the paper in your jacket pocket, you stood up and grabbed your bag. "Well, uhm, thanks. I'll make sure to call or text." You barely waved goodbye and smiled to him as you opened the door and disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp
> 
> this was an unexpected turn
> 
> I really had no idea how this chapter would turn out, I kinda just went along with it. I have at least two major conflicts ready, but I don't think it's time yet.
> 
> MORE FLUFF
> 
> So that's the plan for the next few chapters, I guess. Going back over these chapters annoys me so much, because you catch stupid things you subconsciously do, like putting the word and in too many times. Drives me crazy. Oh, and one more thing. A big THANK YOU to everybody who even took the time to look at my story and click on it. I love getting comments, kudos, bookmarks, anything really. If you want to suggest any ideas, I'll gladly accept them. Don't be afraid to comment, kids.
> 
> Again, a really big thanks. I appreciate it.


	4. Chapter 4

Your keys jangled against each other as you unlocked the front door to your apartment. The bag you were wearing slid off your shoulder and placed in its designated spot, next to the shoe rack. You took your tennis shoes off and proceeded to the bathroom, where you stripped your scrubs off and took a nice, hot shower.

Only when you were comfortably stretched across the couch and watching a rerun of your favorite show, did your phone go off. You groaned and rolled over slightly to the table where your phone was, and lo and behold, it was Mettaton. He had gotten your number after you had texted him out of curiosity, when you'd gotten his number from the time you had lunch with him, Alphys and Undyne, and you two been writing to each other back and forth ever since.

His text simply read, “Call me.”

Your finger instantly touched the call button. It didn't take him long to answer.

“Where are you?” he urgently asked.

“Home, chilling until you bothered. Why'd you ask?”

“Oh, I was wondering if you could come to the corner of 95th street and your street. We're going to a club, darling. It's Friday night, you need to let loose after being a doctor all day.”

You frowned in confusion. “A club? Mettaton, it's almost eleven. I wanna sleep. Go take one of your model friends.”

“I'm taking you and you only, sweetheart. I know you don't want to sleep. Now go put something nice on and meet me there in an hour. I'll be waiting.” 

“Whatever you say. You're crazy, you know that?”

“Not crazy, I just want to take you out of your reclusive lifestyle. Now go.”

“Okay, okay, bye then.” You hung up.

Well, then. You had an hour to make yourself look club ready. Luckily, you'd taken a shower, so you didn't need to worry much about your hair and smell. Only what you'd wear.

About twenty minutes later, you'd decided on a semi-fancy white shirt, and some black pants. (You weren't sure what they were. Pants? Jeans? Leggings?) You had to adjust the shirt, as your shoulders were a bit on the broad side. You cursed yourself for not trying on any of your pants earlier, because the ones you were wearing had been a struggle to pull on and button. Whatever. Your thighs were a little on the larger side, but you didn't care.

A while later your hair and makeup looked perfect, and you took one last look in the mirror. Spinning around, you checked everything to make sure it was in place. Seeing how beautiful you looked brought a smile to your face; it wasn't every day you had an opportunity to dress up like this. Grabbing a small bag from your dresser, you slapped on some decent shoes and walked out of the door for a second time that day.

\-----

He stood right where he said he would. You couldn't help but smile as he saw you and a grin spread across his face.

You two stood together. His eyes were on you; your eyes were looking down at the ground.

That stupid smile was still on your face.

"You look gorgeous, darling."

Your heart was in your ears. Cheeks burning, ears hot.

"Thanks. You look really good too."

"Oh, darling." He waved his hand and chuckled. "You sweet thing. Shall we go, then?"

"We shall."

The night was promising. The rhythm of the city matched the beat of your heart.

\-----

As you two walked together block after block, you let your eyes wander over to the person next to you.

He, as always, took your breath away. His eyes reflected the distant lights and seemed to shimmer with life. It was sort of ironic, seeing as he was a robot, made of cold, hard metal. But here he was, radiating passion and life and movement and hell, you were infatuated. You loved his confidence; it made you feel at ease. It passed onto you at times; when you were with him, you felt as if nothing could bring you down. Sometimes, in the back of your mind, though, you thought about his confession back at the lunch you had a while ago. Why was he doing this with you, if he said he had feelings for someone else? It just didn't make sense. He brought all of these emotions out of you; ones that you thought you'd forgotten a while ago.

You took a deep breath in.

Whatever. What happens tonight, will happen. You were through with worrying about the complications you two had.

Mettaton suddenly spoke, breaking your train of thought. "Okay, it should be around here somewhere."

You found the club without much difficulty. It sat in a group of others, so it was only a matter of time before you stumbled upon it. There was a short line in front of the doors. But, as soon as Mettaton pulled some sort of I.D out and showed it to the bouncer, the both of you instantly skipped the line and were let through.

By the time you had made it to the "main" club area, the music was definitely heard. But it wasn't anything shrill or overly obnoxious; instead, electronic music flowed through the air. Mettaton had led you to an empty table, where he had to half-shout, "This is our table! If you get lost or something, meet me here, okay? Let's hit the floor, darling! I've been dying to let loose!"

You grinned and followed him to the dance area. 

The atmosphere of the club was electric; neon blue lights lit the air on fire, bodies pressed together, and the floor trembled to the beat of the music. You felt one with the night, and as you slipped away from reality and your body swayed, nothing could be better. You were high on life itself.

The air was hot, sticky and smelled of alcohol. You were on fire, twirling in the flashing lights and swinging your hips. Giddy laughter escaped your lips as you were having the time of your life.

And that's when you turned and locked eyes with him.

The two of you stepped closer to each other. Mettaton had a hungry look in his eye, as if he wanted you and only you. You began to move to the rhythm again; he followed. 

Your hands found each other soon enough. His were on your waist, yours on his shoulders. Love and lust and who the hell knows what was in the air that night. Everything was alive, and moved with the both of you.

No words were needed: only music.

\----

A while later, when sweat had soaked your shirt and ran down your face, you went upstairs and out onto a balcony. It was, thankfully, empty.

You breathed in the cool night air. It soothed the lightning in your lungs, and dulled the furious beating of your heart.

Resting your elbows on the railing, you heard the door open behind you. Mettaton appeared next to you and leaned over the railing a bit. He gently took his hand in yours, but didn't make eye contact with you. He looked straight across as his eyes swept the skyline of the city.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's one of the reasons I moved here. The view." you said.

You looked down and your mind raced. You instantly thought to ask him the question that'd been clawing at you for forever. But before you could even think about what you'd say, your lips had already moved.

"Mettaton, why are you taking me out and flirting with me like this? I thought you were in love with someone else. You said so at the time we had lunch." you asked with a hint of anger.

His head turned to you. His eyes twinkled with amusement and his mouth slowly turned into a grin. A soft chuckle escaped his lips.

"(Y/N). I thought you would have figured it out by now. The person I was describing that day? It was you. The moment I met you, I knew I was done for. Not seeing you was torture, sweetheart. There could be a million ways to describe what I feel for you. Me, being the way I am with words, can't even begin to tell you. Goddamnit, I've been a wreck this past month, trying to figure out a way to confess after what I said that day. That, was only a shard of what I have to say. So, let me start, right here. I'm in love with you. The way you laugh, the way you talk and smile, how intelligent you are, and how you don't treat me as an over-privileged idiot. You're so beautiful in so many ways, darling."

 

The silence hung in the air, as the music in the background echoed Mettaton's confession. You knew he had something for you, but you never thought it was something like this.

A tear of happiness rolled down your cheek as you began to say something back, but your speech was interrupted. Mettaton carefully took your face in each of his graceful hands and leaned down to meld into a kiss. Your eyes closed as you relaxed into it, and a wave of electricity surged through your veins. Your lips pushed back deeper into his, and both of you were intertwined in the arms of intimacy until you pulled away gently and gazed into Mettaton's eyes.

The air was once more alight, this time with passion.

Later, you and Mettaton came back down to the dance floor again, and danced for a while until the strings of sleep tugged at your eyes. You told Mettaton it was probably time to go, and soon you were out the doors and back into the streets.

You leaned your head onto Mettaton's arm. He then wrapped it around you, and you two walked to your apartment in a sort of side-hug. Pulling away from his hold, you hugged him goodbye and waved back at him as you entered your apartment. He smiled back at you and held a hand up in farewell. The rest of the way home was a blur, and you collapsed onto your bed still dressed and with makeup on.

Sleep gently took your hand and guided you away from reality not long after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit the confession was a little fast, but I needed it in place to continue some other events that are going to happen.
> 
> As I wrote this, I was thinking about how things are going to be once school starts up again in August for me. Updates aren't going to be as frequent, for sure: I'm on break for now, so I usually come back and write if I'm bored. I don't know if I'll be swamped with work, so, we'll see, I guess.
> 
> That's about it, for now. I'll be here, clicking away at my keyboard. Any comments and suggestions are always beneficial. Thanks for taking the time to click on this mess of a story.


	5. Chapter 5

Work was work, nowadays.

It made you want to clench your teeth sometimes; the way your supervisors made you do the grunt work, like checking on the difficult patients or working a shift down in the emergency room.

Oh, that horrible place.

The ER.

You hated working in the emergency room with all your heart and soul. From the moment you graduated, you'd vowed never to step in one, much less work in one. Experiences and stories of terrifying things down there spread like wildfire across the campus. Ever since you had begun shifts in there, patients, ones you sometimes cared deeply for and ones that struck a chord in your heart, had died there. They took their last breaths, called out for their lost loves, and recalled their pasts in forced gasps. Sometimes, they never even had the chance to speak as they came in lifeless and cold already. Nurses and doctors scrambled to revive those ones; you knew deep down in your heart that they were already gone. The graceful fingers of death had already taken their souls far, far away.

And today was another day you got to see hell again.

Your supervising resident called your group of interns down to cover the ER for the day. You got up from your comfortable spot in your chair and cursed under your breath. Scrubs were put on, hands were washed, feet were dragged down the hall. You tried to reassure yourself that today was going to be a good day; that being downstairs wasn't so bad at all. But you couldn't help but droop your shoulders as you walked down the hall.

Sophia sidled up next to you and put her arm around your shoulder. "Hey, take it easy, champ. Maybe today won't be too heartbreaking. Maybe we'll just see a lot of cool, gory, bloody, action." She rubbed your back reassuringly.

"Thanks. I don't know why I'm so sad going into here. I-I don't even know these people, why am I even so attached to them, you know? I guess I'm just... weird like that." You took a deep breath. "I thought I knew what was coming, from all the stuff in med school."

"You're fine. Some of us take it harder than others. I'm guilty of breaking down after one of my patients die, too. We're human, honey. We only have to pretend we're not, for their sake."

She nodded up at the patients wandering around the waiting room. She ruffled your hair and went off to go get a patient. Just as soon as you took a step forward, though, a clipboard was thrust into your hands and you were now face to face with your supervising resident.

"Here, take this case off my list. Murray Hillenbach, 93. Poor guy's got pneumonia along with a plethora of other illnesses. Probably living out his last few days or hours now. Go, keep an eye on him."

You blinked a few times in response to what had just happened in a flash, and then looked down at the room number. 1202. That was in the ICU, so he was pretty bad off. Your sneakers squeaked against the linoleum as you read his chart. Nothing good or promising in his prognosis. He was the case you were absolutely dreading to have today, one that you'd get attached to.

Walking through the ICU scared you sometimes. Code blues rang out occasionally, and nurses and doctors rushed to the room in need. Often, you heard crying or screaming coming from that room afterwards, and the nurses and doctors coming out with sullen faces. 

Eventually, you reached the room.

1202.

Deep breath, you say, deep breath. Just keep breathing.

Opening the door, a ray of sunshine instantly hit your eyes. A window room. Covering your eyes with your hands slightly, you could see an aged man sitting up in his bed with a pleasant smile on his face and looking happy, despite all the machines hooked up to him. You smiled back and introduced yourself.

"Hi, I'm Dr. (Y/L/N). But you can call me (Y/N), I don't mind, either way is fine. How are you feeling today, Mr. Hillenbach? 

"Oh, call me Murray. Well, I'm in no position to be calling myself fine, dear." He chuckled. "But I've been getting along. I know I don't have much longer to live, so I guess I'm taking it all in, now."

"It's alright, sir. If you don't mind, I'll just take your vital signs to update your charts."

"Go ahead, dear. Go ahead, I don't mind at all. You know, you remind me of my wife when she was younger. Nice, smart, beautiful, too. A shame I don't get to see her anymore. Passed on almost three years ago, God bless her soul."

"I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how it felt to lose the one you love. You must be heartbroken."

"Miss (Y/N), it does break your heart when your best friend of decades leaves you for good. But it can't truly broken, you see, for we met when we were twenty-somethings. That's almost seventy years of memories with her. I love to just sit back and think. Think of everything we did together, the lifetime we shared. She, was the love of my life, of course, but I know she's in a better place now. I still remember the days I told her I loved her and when I asked her to marry me. Pure gold."

As you took off his blood pressure cuff, Mettaton came to mind. His confession of love, his constant longing and affection for you. It made you smile and blush a bit, just thinking about it. Were you two going to be the same way? Together until the end? Or split apart, never to be together again?

Murray smiled gently and asked, "Dear, is there someone in your life like that? You seem like a gem of a person; I would be shocked if nobody had their eye on you."

Shuffling through the instruments, you replied, "Actually, there is." Your mouth curved into a smile. "He told me he loved me not too long ago. I sure do love him back, but I think we're kind of rushing into this. I've only seen him maybe a couple of times, and I'm not too sure I believe in love at first sight. He's absolutely stunning, both inside and out, but I'm not that sure if things should be happening this fast. and I can't help but think what's to come. Yet it makes my heart soar when I think of him."

Another throaty chuckle, and then a series of coughs. "I'm sure that if you love him, and he loves you, there isn't much that could go wrong." His eyes seemed to shimmer with life again, as if they were awakened from a deep, deep sleep. "It truly is something when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." Murray reached out and put his hand on your shoulder. "Love doesn't come all at once; it takes time, it takes patience and work. You need to know who you're committing to, and lots of things need to be established. But, now you can take the time to know each other without it being, well, awkward. I know that, deep down, you heart can guide you in any situation. Follow it, dear, it's something worth breathing for."

He took his hand off your shoulder, and you wiped a tear from your eye. "I couldn't thank you enough, Murray. You have a heart of gold. May it stay that way for a while, sir."

Picking up and putting away the instruments, you said your final words to him: "Murray, you're looking better. Your signs are improving; keep it up, for whoever's still left with you."

You waved goodbye, and left Murray Hillenbach to himself again.

\-----

Nothing traumatic had happened that day in the ER. Sophia, you later learned, was assigned to a drunk who had his finger stuck in a beer bottle. She had to chase him around the whole department, finally smashing the bottle into pieces and pulling his finger out. You two laughed about it over coffee later that evening. You and Sophia were in some shop a block from the hospital, happily sipping your cappucinos with the thought of a day off fresh in your minds.

But as Sophia told you her crazy encounters with people in the hospital, you thought about how you were assigned to Murray while being in the ER for the day. Huh. He was in the ICU, so he wouldn't have been your case until your resident gave it to you. Oh.

He probably knew your sensitivities, so he gave Murray to you. Wow. You'd thought he was pretty cold and unwelcoming, but maybe not, then. You made a mental note to thank him for it.

"So, Sophia. Tell me about your life. What's been going on outside of the hospital?" you asked.

"Well, geez, okay. Um, I broke up with my boyfriend a couple days ago. Bastard was cheating on me with some other chick. Found out, dumped him the moment I saw him."

"Ouch. Harsh." You took a sip of your coffee and almost burned your entire mouth. That's hot, you remembered.

"Yeah, well, I mean you asked. What's up with you, punk?"

"Well, there's this guy..." you trailed off.

"A guy!?! Finally!?! TELL ME!" she half-screamed.

"Okay, okay, okay. Well we've been sorta seeing each other and I think I really like him. He treats me really well and is, well, quite a personality, to say the least." You gave the bare minimum as to avoid you spilling over all your thoughts on Mettaton and making a fool of yourself.

"Aww, so cute! Well, you went and did it, you finally found someone after years and years and centuries.."

"Sophia, my last relationship was a year ago."

"Oh, whatever. Anyways, good for you, and I've gotta run." She got up and pushed her chair in. "I've got important business to take care of before my special day off tomorrow. See ya!" she called and disappeared behind the door.

You were left behind with your stupid coffee. Oh well, you thought. At least you had some alone time before what you were planning for tonight with Mettaton. You weren't offically "dating", but it was something reminiscent of it. Tonight, you decided, you were going to invite him over. After he took you out to the club last week, it was your turn to plan something for the two of you. And you, being you, were going to invite him over to dinner tonight.

Now was probably the time to do it. You got up and threw your empty coffee cup away, then walked out the door. Pulling out your phone, you called Mettaton and prayed for an answer.

"Darling?"

Ah, that voice. Still gorgeous, even through the horrible phone line.

"Hey, Mettaton. I just called to ask you if you maybe wanted to come over to my place for dinner tonight, maybe?" you stumbled over the words a couple of times.

A gasp from the other end.

"Of course! I'm free tonight, love, so of course! You're off work, right?"

You could hear the smile in his voice. "Yeah, for the rest of today and tomorrow." You almost tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, but caught yourself quickly.

"Great, great news. How about 7 or 8, then?"

"Seven thirty would be perfect."

"All right, then, I'll see you then, gorgeous. Bye!"

Click.

\-----

Your apartment was pretty clean at the moment, so only extra preparations were needed. The theme you were going for was subtly romantic, as you didn't officially ask him out on a date. Some candles were lit, the lights were dimmed a bit, and the table was set for two. You turned on some nice, quiet music to break the silence that hung over the room. Everything seemed right and in place, until you remembered the most important thing.

Dinner.

How could you forget? You scrambled to your laptop to hurriedly scroll through recipes. Tapping the desk with your finger impatiently, you glanced over at the clock. Seven o' clock. You then changed your search to "dinner in 30 mins". After searching through pages of recipes, you finally settled on a classic: pasta.

Jumping out of your chair, you threw open the kitchen cabinets to grab a pot. and filled it with water. Then, after turning the stove on, you smacked that pot down onto it and ran to your room to change. And again, you had no idea what to wear, so the Internet had come in handy yet again. Switching between your phone and your closet, you settled on a nice, mint green sweater and a pair of jeans. (Your legs weren't exactly the build for skinny jeans. Either the jeans were too long, or stopped coming up at your calves.) Shoes weren't needed for tonight, so slippers worked fine. You ran back into the kitchen, where the water was already boiling. The pasta was thrown in and you got the sauce and other things out of the cabinets. Okay. With fifteen minutes left, you could probably whip up some side dishes and call it a day.

Ten minutes later, your pasta was plated, as well as a salad and some other foodstuffs. You prayed monsters could have human food, because you had absolutely no idea how to make any of it. Ahh, okay. You had five minutes to spare before Mettaton got here. Throwing yourself across the couch to take a breath, you stared up at the ceiling. You wondered how today was going to go. Was it going to be awkward because of you again? No, no, no. Don't think like that, don't put yourself down, you thought. Just follow your heart, and don't be so shut in. Be confident. Be open.

The buzzer went off.

\-----

A knock on the door suddenly filled the room. You rushed up to open it, and you were greeted with a quiet "Darling." and a hug. You felt his arms wrap around you and the both of you embraced. It wasn't like any other hug you had before; it felt amazing. He put his head into your hair and gently rocked you from side to side. You let go and smiled up at him. Only now you noticed what he was wearing: a button up shirt with some jeans. It was pretty basic, but he looked amazing in it. As always.

"(Y/N), your apartment looks beautiful. Oh, and the candles, lights and music. It's gorgeous. Thank you so much for inviting me over."

"It's nothing." You waved your hand dismissively. "The important thing is, you're here. Now take your shoes off and come sit down with me."

You walked away from the entrance door, through the kitchen and sat down at your table. Mettaton followed you and sat down as well.

"Dear, you never even gave me a chance to pull the chair out for you." he pouted.

"Oh, Mettaton. Don't bother. I made pasta and salad. It's, um, human food. Are you okay with that?"

"Of course. It looks delicious."

"Be my guest, and dig in."

The music kept the conversation going even when you two didn't talk. You picked a quiet, acoustic playlist that would set the mood, and it did. 

After you had finished your meals and you had thrown the plates in the sink, you sat back down with Mettaton.

"That, was one of the best pastas I've ever had, sweetheart. No kidding." Mettaton stated.

"Mettaton, you flirt. I threw that together in fifteen minutes." You interjected.

"Even better! A masterpiece in fifteen minutes. How about you quit being a doctor and become a chef instead?"

"You wish."

As you rested your hand on the table, Mettaton reached over and softly took your hand in his.

"Come with me, darling."

He then stood up and you did the same. He led you out into the living room, where the music was playing.

"Put your hands on my shoulders. We're going to dance."

You sighed and smiled. He slowly put his hands on your waist and you began swaying ever so slightly to the music. Step, step, step. The music had you and Mettaton tied together. The rhythm and beat of the song connected your bodies, hearts, and souls. Sometimes, when you had stepped enough, he dipped you gently and pulled you back up. The time was filled with gentle twirls, dips and the beating of your heart. Resting your head on Mettaton's shoulder, you let out a contented sigh.

"Mettaton."

"Hmm?"

"You've got beautiful eyes."

He gave a chuckle. "You flirt."

"Don't take my words out of my mouth!"

"I'm only stating the obvious, darling. Now let's keep dancing. I'm enjoying being with you."

You grinned. But truth be told, his eyes were something you could get lost in; they changed with his every expression, and always were alive and alight with passion. 

They were something you marveled at while you danced through the evening hours.

\-----

You two had stopped dancing a while ago, after the playlist had given its all with its songs being played. You and Mettaton were now sitting on the couch together, with the songs on repeat.

You broke the silence."Mettaton, it's only been two months, and you already love me?"

"Of course. You're different, somehow.. this isn't my first time being in love, and you're definitely something different. You're the moonlight to my dark night, you pulled me out of the pit I was in."

"How, exactly?" you asked.

"Well, you treat me so well. I try to be my best around you, as you deserve it.. you're truly a kind person. I treat everyone the complete opposite; I'm selfish, and I don't even appreciate what I have. But you, you grounded me. You remind me of what's important, what's worth keeping. Darling, you are worth loving every second of every day."

Your face turned a bright crimson and your eyes welled up with tears. "Mettaton... nobody's ever told me anything close to that. Thank you, for saying that, it really strikes a chord in my heart. I really, really like you, maybe even love. But I think we need to get to know each other a bit more. We can't.. rush into this too fast."

"Of course, of course. We'll take as much time as we need to. I'm glad the journey's with you, sweetheart."

"Me too, Mettaton. Me too."

You closed your eyes and rested your head on his shoulder.

Not long after, the two of you were fast asleep.

A day well spent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize I forgot to put notes in.  
> OK, this story is about to pass the 1,000 hits mark and already has 50 kudos. I cannot thank everyone who reads this story enough. I never even expected a hundred hits, much less almost 1,000. I'm still thinking of plots I can put in for the next chapter, and may adjust tags and such for that chapter. It'll probably be up within a week or two, as I've written half of two chapters already. I just need to adjust them and add other things in.
> 
> Again, thanks so much to the people who take the time to show their appreciation with kudos, bookmarks and such.


End file.
